Disabled people ‘are being shut out of our society’
THE NUMBER of complaints about bin collections which were upheld by the local government watchdog rose sharply this year, a report shows.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman upheld more than four fifths of its investigations into complaints about services involving rubbish, and has warned outsourcing of bin collections to private companies was at the root of many issues.
This year’s figure was a sharp increase on the previous year’s 69 per cent of complaints upheld, and well above the average rate of 53 per cent for all types of investigation by the ombudsman.
With many councils outsourcing waste services, one of the common problems is insufficient oversight of contractors and councils not taking full ownership of ensuring issues are addressed, a new report from the ombudsman said.
Investigations found issues including repeated missed collections, sometimes compounded by infrequent bin rounds, poor complaint-handling and problems with assistance for those with disabilities.
Cases included a woman who had to phone her council every fortnight for three months to get her rubbish collected, while others saw food waste or garden waste collections repeatedly not picked up.
In one instance, a man had to take his rubbish to a relative for more than three months because the council failed to collect it.
And a man receiving assisted collections did not have his recycling bin returned to the right place for 10 months, with waste crews telling him it took too long to bring it back. DEFENCE SECRETARY Sir Michael Fallon has welcomed President Donald Trump’s pledge to beef up the US military presence in Afghanistan, saying allies must “stay the course” in the conflict.
However, it is thought unlikely that the UK will increase its deployment to the country in the wake of Mr Trump’s announcement.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was critical of the US president, saying more troops and bombs will continue the failure of military action in Afghanistan.
In a dramatic turnaround from his election campaign calls for the 16-year war to be brought to an end, Mr Trump unveiled a new south Asia strategy designed to prevent a Taliban takeover, target Islamic State and al Qaida and stop mass terror attacks in the USA.
And he said he was “confident” that Nato allies – which include Britain – would hike troops and funding in line with the US.
But in a statement responding to the announcement, Sir Michael gave no indication that the UK is considering an increase to its 500-strong deployment, and stressed that an additional 85 troops were committed as recently as June.
Sir Michael was briefed by his US counterpart Jim Mattis ahead of the president’s announcement, in the first of a series of phone calls to Nato allies.
But it is understood that London has received no formal request from the US for further military support, and UK sources played down the prospects of an increase in British boots on the ground.
Sir Michael said: “The US commitment is very welcome. In my call with Secretary Mattis yesterday we agreed that, despite the challenges, we have to stay the course in Afghanistan to help build up its fragile democracy and reduce the terrorist threat to the West.
“It’s in all our interests that Afghanistan becomes more prosperous and safer: that’s why we announced our own troop increase back in June.” DISABLED PEOPLE are being “increasingly marginalised and shut out of society” as they bear the brunt of Government spending cuts, the UK’s equality and human rights bodies have warned.
Campaigners said the UK and devolved governments must start taking the human rights of disabled people more seriously, as officials prepare for an examination on the issue at the United Nations.
Members of an independent watchdog set up to monitor disabled people’s rights in the UK say their right to independent living has been eroded as health and social care budgets are cut.
It is among a series of policies criticised by the groups in their submission to the UN.
The UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) previously said welfare reforms have led to “grave and systematic violations” of disabled people’s rights, findings the Government said it strongly disagreed with.
The committee is now conducting a much wider investigation to assess the UK’s progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, as part of a periodic review all nations signed up to the convention must go through.
The Government said the UK is a world leader in disability rights and spends billions of pounds to support those with disabilities and health conditions every year.
But David Isaac, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “There is a real concern that disabled people are being increasingly marginalised and shut out of society as they bear the brunt of the accumulated impact of cuts in public spending.
The Government says, as a share of GDP, the UK’s public spending on disability and incapacity is higher than all G7 countries bar Germany, while its focus has been on helping disabled people achieve their potential. A spokeswoman said: “The UK is a recognised world leader in disability rights and equality.”